Written Answers Tuesday 8 March 2011

Scottish Executive

Cancer

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what 10 cancers were most commonly diagnosed in men in NHS Tayside in the last year for which information is available, broken down by the number of men affected and expressed as a percentage of people diagnosed with cancer in NHS Tayside, and what the corresponding figures were for 1998.

Nicola Sturgeon: Data on newly diagnosed cancers in Scotland are recorded on the Scottish Cancer Registry. The most recent calendar year of data currently available is 2008. Details of the 10 most commonly diagnosed cancers in men, broken down by the number affected and expressed as a percentage of the people diagnosed with cancer in NHS Tayside, and what the corresponding figures were for 1998 is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52502).

Cancer

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what 10 cancers were most commonly diagnosed in women in NHS Tayside in the last year for which information is available, broken down by the number of women affected and expressed as a percentage of people diagnosed with cancer in NHS Tayside, and what the corresponding figures were for 1998.

Nicola Sturgeon: Data on newly diagnosed cancers in Scotland are recorded on the Scottish Cancer Registry. The most recent calendar year of data currently available is 2008. Details of the 10 most commonly diagnosed cancers in women, broken down by the number affected and expressed as a percentage of the people diagnosed with cancer in NHS Tayside, and what the corresponding figures were for 1998 is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52503).

Children and Young People

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken since May 2007 to ensure that children with a parent in prison are recorded as being in need in terms of section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government are very conscious that children who have a parent in prison may have additional support needs in terms of section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

  Some steps we have taken so that these needs can be highlighted are:

  1. The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009 strengthened the 2004 Act which placed a duty on education authorities to identify, meet and keep under review the additional support needs of all pupils for whom they are responsible, and to tailor provision to their individual needs.

  2. New guidance for social workers was published on 24 December 2010, which specifically advises report writers to consider the impact on children and other family members of certain community disposals and especially custody.

  3. The Minister for Children and Early Years hosted a meeting with representatives from Families Outside, Action for Children, Barnardos, SCCYP (Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People) and Children in Scotland to discuss suggested ways forward on 25 January 2011 and officials are currently developing mechanisms to help identify children with specific support needs.

Education

Alasdair Allan (Western Isles) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit of the Scottish Education Quality and Improvement Agency will be.

Michael Russell: I am pleased to confirm the remit and purpose of the new agency.

  Core Purpose and Strategic Priorities

  The new agency is to be established as a key national body supporting quality and improvement in Scottish education by:

  leading and supporting the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence;

  increasing the capacity for self-evaluation and self-improvement amongst education providers and practitioners;

  promoting high quality professional learning and leadership;

  identifying and stimulating innovation, sharing successful approaches widely with others;

  providing independent external evaluations of the quality of educational provision at individual provider, local authority and partners, and national levels, and

  supporting the development and implementation of policy at National Level.

  Values and Operating Principles

  The new agency will work in partnership alongside the full range of bodies and organisations active in the field of Scottish education, from local authorities to further and higher education, third sector and parent groups, according to their own statutory and other duties and capabilities. It will:

  focus on delivering value and enhanced capacity to front-line providers and practitioners.

  promote and support a climate of ambition that maximises effective local developments and implementation.

  be capable of providing consistent, flexible and proportionate support, based on the presumption that the majority of educational establishments are well run organisations, not in need of major intervention;

  have the capacity to intervene strongly wherever there is evidence that education providers are not ensuring satisfactory quality and standards through their own action;

  be characterised by an ethos of trust, partnership openness, excellence, and accountability, and

  be driven by end-user accountability, and committed to the continuous improvement of the quality of its own services.

  Activity

  The agency will inherit the full range of functions currently being undertaken by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) and Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS):

  It will assume responsibility from the Scottish Government Learning Directorate for aspects of activity supporting Continuing Professional Development at national level;

  Ministers, on the advice of Scottish Government policy departments, will continue to set policy and strategy for the public sector and the education system at a national level, including the broad framework of policy for scrutiny and inspection in each sector;

  The agency will take over responsibility for the Curriculum for Excellence Management Board and Excellence Groups from October 2011, or when all major policy decisions have been agreed;

  The agency will collate and analyse intelligence and data from all its support and improvement activities in Scotland, and knowledge of effective international practice. Other evidence and analysis functions will sit as currently with the Scottish Government;

  On the formation of the agency on 1 July, there will be a seamless continuity in the operation of the various programmes run by these entities;

  The continuous improvement of these programmes will be driven over time by the senior team and staff of the agency to best meet the strategic priorities set out above, and

  Future changes in the agency’s activity and the timeframe for its implementation will be determined in concert with key delivery partners as appropriate.

  Ethos

  In order to most effectively fulfil its remit, the new agency will aim to be:

  flexible, non-hierarchical, with open lines of communication throughout the organisation, and people coming together to work on specific projects according to their skills, interests and abilities;

  expert in relationship management and the facilitation of highly effective collaborative partnership working, within and beyond the education sector, Scotland-wide and internationally, and

  evidence-based, and capable of rapid, flexible response, but not rule bound and heavily bureaucratic.

  Benefits

  The key benefits to accrue from the establishment of the agency are:

  a single point of contact for the range of support services currently offered;

  improved flows of information, knowledge and skills between review activity and support activity that builds on existing local arrangements;

  closer integration of the provision of support services among the organisations being brought together;

  more proportionate, streamlined and flexible use of resources, to deliver against an over-arching strategy;

  extension of the principle of earned autonomy and trust, enabling establishments to determine - with their natural partners - their own strengths/opportunities/development areas where they have demonstrated their ability to manage their development effectively, and

  the opportunity to make full use of the experience and skills of staff coming into the organisation.

Employment

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are employed in dismantling offshore structures and installations and whether it has projections of the number of people likely to be so employed in the next five years.

Jim Mather: The information requested is not held centrally.

  Estimates from Oil and Gas UK suggest that the UKCS (UK Continental Shelf) decommissioning market could support between 8,000 and 10,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2015. The decommissioning market is set to grow over the next five years, the annual value exceeding £1 billion in today’s money for the first time in 2015.

Football

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been provided by sportscotland to the Scottish Football Association in each of the last four years.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Football Association has received significant funding from sportscotland in each of the last four years to support the implementation of the sport’s development plan. The level of investment is an operational matter and I have asked the chief executive of sportscotland, Stewart Harris, to provide the detailed information requested.

  In the three years from 2008-09, the Scottish Football Association was awarded £2.535 million direct from the Scottish Government to deliver a wide range of football opportunities as part of the Cashback for Communities programme. A further £2 million has been provided from the Cashback for Communities programme to sportscotland to help support the delivery of quality facilities in communities across Scotland.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the local action plans relating to the Change Fund are due to be submitted.

Shona Robison: All 32 health, housing and social care partnerships in Scotland were asked to submit change plans to the Scottish Government by 28 February 2011. As of 7 March 2011, all 32 change plans have been received.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local action plans relating to the Change Fund have been submitted.

Shona Robison: Change Plans have now been received from all 32 partnerships.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what process will be followed to agree the local action plans relating to the Change Fund.

Shona Robison: We have asked partnerships to agree Change Plans through local community planning arrangements and submit them to us by 28 February 2011 to enable a national overview report to be considered by the Ministerial Strategic Group on 15 March 2011.

  To enable allocations to be made within the current financial year, we will work closely with partnerships to put agreed plans in place by June 2011 at the latest.

Justice

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of self-harm by prisoners there were in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010, broken down by institution.

The following is a corrected answer (originally published on 1 February 2011); see below.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The following table illustrates the total number of self-harm incidents recorded as such on the Prisoner Record System broken down by establishment.

  

Establishment
2009
2010


Aberdeen
10
8


Addiewell
24
66


Barlinnie
39
37


Cornton Vale
106
105


Dumfries
10
15


Edinburgh
1
13


Glenochil
8
12


Greenock
7
3


Inverness
8
13


Kilmarnock
39
38


SPS Open Estate
1
0


Perth
20
34


Peterhead
14
13


Polmont
8
21


Shotts
13
5

Local Government

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its officials had discussions with City of Edinburgh Council officials in relation to the Craigmillar Settlement in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010.

John Swinney: There were no such discussions.

Local Government

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in his work for the Scottish Government, the senior policy officer in the City of Edinburgh Council’s equalities unit reports to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Scottish Government Resilience.

Alex Neil: No. In his work for the Scottish Government, the Equalities Manager for the City of Edinburgh Council does not report to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Scottish Resilience.

National Health Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many operations were cancelled by the NHS in 2009-10 and have been cancelled in 2010-11, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The specific information requested is not available centrally.

  Information, although limited, is available on the number of hospital stays where operation or procedures were not carried out following admission to hospital. The latest yearly published information on the number of cancelled operations or procedures is for 2009-10 and this data is provided in the following table.

  Operations may be cancelled due a number of reasons such as a particularly high level of emergency admissions, staff sickness, the patient being unfit for treatment on admission or the patient having failed to follow pre-admission advice such as fasting before admission.

  NHSScotland: Number of Hospital Stays where a Cancelled Operation or Procedure Not Being Carried out has been Recorded1,2,3 in the Year Ending 31 March 2010

  

NHS Board of Treatment
Number


Ayrshire and Arran
1,444


Borders
147


Dumfries and Galloway
614


Fife
934


Forth Valley
145


Grampian
1,775


Greater Glasgow and Clyde
5,244


Highland
902


Lanarkshire
2,469


Lothian
1,606


Orkney
46


Shetland
76


Tayside
871


Western Isles
67



  Notes:

  1. Source ISD Scotland – information derived from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals.

  2. Up to six diagnoses (one principal and five secondary) are recorded on SMR01 returns. All six diagnoses positions have been used to identify cancelled operations. The following International Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD -10) code has been used to identify cancelled operations/procedures – Z53; person encountering health services for specific procedure not carried out.

  3. Cases were an operation or procedure was cancelled prior to the patient being admitted to hospital are excluded.

National Health Service

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to NHS boards regarding the (a) criteria, (b) recording and (c) use of the Health Plan Indicator for children under five.

Shona Robison: Guidance regarding the Health Plan Indicator (HPI) was contained in A New Look at Hall 4, The Early Years, Good Health for Every Child, launched on 18 January 2011.

  The criteria for allocation of the HPI should be based on the assessed need of the individual child and family.

  The Health Plan Indicator should continue to be recorded on the Child Health Surveillance Programme – Pre-school (CHSP-PS) system. Work is ongoing to ensure this system supports practitioners in light of the changes.

  The HPI should relate to the assessed needs of the child and family. The guidance makes clear the need for flexibility in the allocation of the HPI as well as the need to revisit the assessment as child and/or family circumstances change.

National Health Service

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what health and development checks will be undertaken in the proposed 24 to 30 month review under the universal child health surveillance programme.

Shona Robison: As a minimum, the 24 to 30 month review should cover: speech, language and communication; personal, social and emotional development (including behavioural issues); nutrition, growth and weight; immunisations; parental concerns and issues; vision, hearing and oral health, and physical activity and play.

  The review may be expanded, depending on child and family circumstances, and professional concerns.

National Health Service

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what health professional will undertake the proposed health and development check for children between 24 and 30 months under the universal child health surveillance programme.

Shona Robison: The review needs to be flexible to meet the needs of the child and family. Although it is anticipated that a registered Public Health Nurse – Health Visitor will lead the review process, it is for NHS boards to decide locally how the reviews can be carried out most effectively depending on the individual child and family circumstances, and who the most appropriate health professional is to carry out that review.

Registers of Scotland

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it expects Registers of Scotland to achieve in 2011-12.

John Swinney: Scottish ministers have set the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland the financial target of delivering 3% increasing cash-releasing efficiencies in each year of her department’s 2011-14 corporate plan.

  In addition, the Keeper has set the following registration and customer service performance targets, which Scottish Ministers endorse:

  Where it is in the Keeper’s power and is legally appropriate to:

  Complete the registration of Sasine writs within an upper limit of 40 days. 80% will be completed within 20 days.

  Complete the registration of Dealings with Whole carried out as Automated Registration of Title to Land (ARTL) transactions within 24 hours.

  Complete the registration of Dealings with Whole that are not carried out as ARTL transactions and standard First Registrations within an upper limit of 120 days. 80% will be completed within 60 days.

  Record all applications for registration on the application record within one working day. (Entrance on the application record safeguards the rights of applicants until the registration application is determined.)

  As part of the continuing strategy to deal with older, complex casework, where it is in the Keeper’s power and is legally appropriate, to:

  Complete pre-1 April 2011 First Registration casework by 31 March 2012.

  Complete pre-1 July 2012 First Registration casework by 31 March 2013.

  Complete pre-1 October 2013 First Registration casework by 31 March 2014.

  Complete a further 32,000 Transfer of Part applications by 31 March 2012.

  Complete pre-1 April 2011 Transfer of Part applications by 31 March 2013.

  Complete pre-1 October 2012 Transfer of Part applications by 31 March 2014.

  Achieve a headline 95% customer satisfaction level for registration accuracy and customer care as measured through a series of customer surveys.

Rescue Services

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by the Inland Water Rescue Stakeholder Group in its consideration of the recommendations in Paddy Tomkins’ report of the findings of his independent review of Scotland’s open water and flood rescue capability and when ministers will issue a formal response to the recommendations.

Fergus Ewing: The group has met four times since it was established in May 2010 and has submitted its report to me, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib number 52551).

  I am grateful to the group for its constructive advice and pragmatic assessment of the value of each of the 15 recommendations in Paddy Tomkins’ report and Scotland is safer because of the work already underway as a result of the report. This work will help inform future decisions about fire and rescue capability in Scotland. The Scottish Government supports the conclusions of the group that the majority of the recommendations be accepted and should be progressed by the relevant agency; which will help strengthen Scotland’s inland water rescue capability.

  The recommendations which have been identified for further work include:

  Exploration of the implications for Scottish stakeholders of the adoption of the Water Accidents and Incidents Database.

  Discussion with relevant stakeholders about the development of inland water rescue asset registers.

  Designated strategic lead for delivery of inland water safety messages across Scotland.

  Implementation of these recommendations will help build on the work which has already been undertaken in the past year to promote safety messages - such as the Ready Winter pages of the Scottish Government website - and the provision of financial support to projects to improve Scotland’s resilience to flooding events, such as the development of the Scottish Flood Forecasting Service.

  The full text of the Scottish Government’s response to the recommendations in Paddy Tomkins’ report is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52550).

Social Care

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the social care spend has been in each year from 2007-08, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) NHS board

Shona Robison: Copies of social work net expenditure 2007-08 – 2009-10 are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52531).

Social Care

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the amount announced for the reshaping care Change Fund was reduced from the planned £140 million to £70 million.

Shona Robison: In early discussions, amounts ranged from £20 million to £140 million over the spending review period. The agreed position is £70 million for 2011-12, and subject to parliamentary approval over the spending review period, for this to be sustained for the following three years, giving at least £280 million, which is double the £140 million first mooted over the spending review period.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliamentary Accommodation

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the monetary value was of parliamentary equipment that has (a) disappeared, (b) been lost and (c) been stolen in each of the last three years.

Tom McCabe: The following table contains the information requested on the monetary value of parliamentary equipment that has disappeared or been lost (both classified as loss) and stolen items (classified as theft) in each of the last three years.

  

Year
Loss (£)
Theft (£)


2007-08
2,309
2,065


2008-09
2,079
 225


2009-10
1,435
1,040